Sewing machine



sept. 14, 1943. F. AsnwoRTH SEWING MAGHINE. :mea spij 11, 1940 2 sneets-sneet Ulil'lfl-v STAT Patented sept. 14, 1943 s i-Arimrq-f .osmosi SEWINGMACIE t Fred Ashworth, WenhamQ'Mass., assigner tol United Shoe Machinery Corporation', Borough. of- Flemington, NVJ.,` a rcprpfzuration"of-New l Jersey Application September 1 1, isroserial No. 356,361 s 7 claims. (01.112A261i The present invention relates to sewing ma? chines, more particularly` shoe sewing machines wherein many of the Aoperating mechanisms vthereio1 ,are located in the head portion o i the machine, and has as its object the pro-visionof a protective and ornamental enclosure or casing for struction and manner of mounting on themachine. Y

While some form of casing or enclosure for the head portion of shoe sewing machines has come to 1 such ,mechanisms of novel and improvedcon' machine with the operating vmechanisms enclosed, except'for the sewing point, by acasing vconstructed and arranged i'nl accordance with the invention, and Figure 2 is a view in side' elevation of themaohinel and enclosure shown in Figure 1,

a portion of one. cover being broken away in each y Afigure to showfdetail's of the mounting.

The machine in which the invention isv shown ,as lernbodied for purposesv of illustration is of the type i-llustratedand describedin U. S. Patent No.

' 1,885,927, issued November 1, 1932, to BernardT.

be considered desirable to prevent injury to the to the machine to, avoid any possibility of loosening, with consequentvibration and noise. Furthermore, since one object in employing a casing or enclosure is to improve the appearance of the machine, the, mounting arrangement must not' interfere with a smooth exterior appearance Accordingly, the present invention contemplates, as a feature thereof, the provision of an 1enclosure or casing forY theoperating mechanisms f in the headportion of a shoe sewing machine, the

enclosure vcomprising a cover or covers mounted on .the machine through the provision of cover rsupporting and positioning means adjacent the top'of the machine,v each cover being `entirely supported at two pointsand secured at a third point `by'clamping means at the side of the machine. More specically, the invention contemplates a 'mounting which involves a cover, or each unit thereof, having tWopoints of -connection and support rlocated at the top of the machine', upon carried bya SupPOrt orpedestal.l lil.

Leveque, and is a'McKay."type machine vhaving a worky supporting horn 6. The stitch' forming and work` feeding'r devices are located",` togetherA with their operating Vn'ieclianis'rns, in the head portion The various-devices arefsimiiar in arrangement and operation to thoseof thev aforesaid-patent, the devices illustratedoomprisin'g'a straight hook needleA l2,

presser foot Hlieed point'lfdand shuttle IS; To

raise the presser foot manually, 'aha'ndfleverlil is provided at one side of themachine head.` A To protect and conceal the numerous operating Amechanisms inthe head lofthe machineoffthe Lio which the cover by its own weight becomes rmly f' seated, while the third point of connectiomadjacent the lower' portion ofthe cover, comprises a 'clamp operative ina direction generally perpendicular to a vertical pla-ne passing throughftnetwo points of support for rsecuring the cover to the machine.` o

In the drawing illustrating the invention in its preferred embodiment, Figure 1 is a view v"in front elevation of thehead yportion of a shoe sewing `scribed' supporting devices.

patent, an enclosure is provided which substantially enoases the ljreadvvof -.the machine with the .exceptionof the. devices adjacent the sewing point. For convenience in handling, the enclosure is dividedalong a median line from rfront to backof the machine intotwoshell-likeparts or lcovers 22 and 2 4. The particularshape of these covers, insofar as ornamental appearance is conicerned, is disclosed and claimed in Design Patent No. 114,410, issuedApril- 1 8, 1939 toFrederick A. PrahLJr. f .1 f

, In order that these coversmaybe removed from Vthemachine'and replacedxwith a minimum of vtime and effortand yet 'arranged to` be firmly secured when in place 'on the machine, each cover VVis independently mounted on the head ofthe 'machine and is connected-thereto at three points only. i At tvv'o'lof these'pointathe 'cover is merely 'supported and positioned,` the cover resting under its own weight solely upon the hereinafter de- At the third point of connection, the coverfis clamped-,the 'clamping iorce being however laterally directed so as no way to interfere with the proper seatingofthe 4 cover on the aforesaid supporting devices.

- These: supporting devices are inthe iorm of headed members or Vpins having round shank portions 26 secu-redV vr in-verticalA bores 28- in the top of the machine vframe by means offsets'crews 30. The head *portionsV i2y of 'fthe'members are eral adjustment of the covers as well, the sup-` ,embodied` in a-particular type of shoe sewing machine and a particular shape and arrangement of head enclosure therefor, the invention is not so limited, but may be embodied in other machines and enclosures within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is: 1. The combination'with a shoe sewing machine having operating mechanisms in the head portion thereof, of an enclosure for said mechaporting pins are'constructed ywith their conical Y head portions 32 eccentrically ldisposed or oiset with respect to the shank portions 26. .By rotating one of the members in the frame, the spacing between two heads may be adjusted to align the latter accurately with the respective cover ,sockets and thus insure full length seating of the. same on the heads, while 'rotation of both mem-j bers together provides for bodily displacement of the cover laterally so as to adjust the clearance between adjacent edges-of the covers as well as between cover and iframe.

To Secure the .covers against lateral swinging movement after the seating of the sockets 34 on the conical heads 32, athird point of connection of eachv cover with the ymachine is provided at the lower edge of the cover. As shown in Figure `2, vthe covers are formed with a rearward extension or lug '38 slotted at 40 to permit the lug to 'rit vover a threaded `stud 42 extending outwardly from the upper portion of each side plate 44 secured to the pedestal l and forming part Aof the ornamental and protective enclosure for the machine. The studs ,are provided with thumb nuts 48 which may be tightened against the lugr to clamp'the'latter iirmly against the side plate`44,

'a washer 50 being employed to space the cover from the plateand provide a point'of connection of relatively limited contact area so as not to twist or warp the cover.

l The covers which make up the head-enclosure may have such openings as are necessary for the passage of control levers or the like. Thus, in the illustrative embodiment, the cover'24 -has a 'slot 52 through which extends the hand lever 20 by which the presser foot may be raised manually. i

In mounting the covers on the machine for the first time, the supporting pins are adjusted both as to height'andorientation so that when the cover is in place and the heads 32 properly aligned with and seated in the sockets 34, the inner` face ofthe lug 3B-rests against the washer 501With the sides of the slot 40 out of contact withthe stud 42. As a result, the entire support of the cover is derived from the cone-headed members at the top of the machine, the weight of the cover .continually urging the parts into wedging contact andhence preventingthe development of any looseness or vibration. UponA tightening the Vthumb nut, the cover. is therefore as firmlysecured to the machine as if positive clamping .means were vemployed at all connecting points.

Nevertheless, removal of the cover merely involves loosening the thumb screw one or two turns, whereupon the cover may be lifted upwardly until the lug 38 clears the stud 42 and the sockets 34 are free of the conical heads 32. Replacementinvolves no more than thereversal sockets. `Aturn or two of the thumb nut then completes the operation.

While the invention has been illustratedw as nisrns, said enclosure being divided along a 'median line `from front to back of the machine to provide .a 'two-part cover, each part of which is independently mounted on the machine at two supporting points adjacent said median line and secured by clamping means at a third point, the cover parts being independently removable from the machine by bodily lifting from said supporting points upon loosening said clamping means.

2. The ycombination With'a shoe -sewing machin-e having operatingm'e'chanisms inthe head portion thereof,-of an enclosure for said mechanisms including a cover, said cover being supported at two points adjacent the vtop of vthe machine, and clam-ping means for `securing the cover tothe machine, Asai-d clamping means operating in a direction generally perpendicular to a vertical plane through the two supporting points. 1 Y 1 3. The combination with `a shoe sewing machine having loperating vmechanisms in the head portion thereof, of van enclosure for said mechanisms including ka cover, means for' supporting said cover, comprising pins v mounted inthe upper part ofthe machine head and adapted toengage the underside-of the cover, and meansior securing the cover, comprising clamping lmeans arranged to engage the cover atapoint remote from said supporting pins. f

4. The combination with a shoe` sewing machine having operating mechanisms in the head portion thereof, of a coverforlsaid mechanisms, means for supporting the cover on'the machine, comprising upwardly ldirected tapering pins,

sockets yin the cover adjacent the 'top'thereof adapted to receive the pins, and means for securing the cover to Vthe lmachine, 'comprising laterally operative clamping means arrangedto engage the cover adjacentthebottomthereof.

5. The combination' with e.v shoe v.sewing machine having operating 'mechanisms vin the head portionthereof, of a cover for said mechanisms,

means for supporting the coveron the machine,

comprising upwardly extendingjpins rotatably and vertically 4adjustable in themachin-e head .adjacent the top thereof, said pins having conpendent of said supportingjmeans-for clamping the cover to the machine.v f

6. The combination withal shoe-'sewing `machine having operatingfmechanisms in the head portion thereof, of an ,enclosure includingl a cover for `saidmechan'sms, y,devi-ces..` on the mach-ine headand on the cover cooperating, wheny brought into engagement, to locate the cover in vpredetermined position with relation togthe headand support the entire Weight of thecover inthis Aposition while permittinggthecover tobe lifted bodily to separate it from the fmachine head,

and additional means below the supporting devices for clamping the cover in said predetermined position.

'7. The combination with a shoe sewing machine having operating mechanisms in the head portion thereof, of an enclosure including a cover for said mechanisms, devices at two spaced points on the machine head adjacent the top of the machine, devices on the cover cooperating with said devices on the machine head to locate the cover in predetermined position with relation to the head and support the cover inthis position, and clamping means at a third point below the top for securing the cover in said predetermined position.

FRED ASHWORTH. 

